River of Darkness
by Nightsky of FlameClan
Summary: I'm awful at summaries so I'm not even going to attempt to make one lol. OCs welcome, rated T because of mild violence
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, everyone! It's been awhile, huh? Sorry for never posting anything, I've been busy with life. Anyways, I've decided to write a new story because I don't really have any inspiration or ideas for my other two stories. And while one of my stories was adopted from another author, I just can't seem to find any drive to continue that story.**

 **Prologue**

A young black tom with icy-blue eyes was stalking through the undergrowth of ShadeClan's territory, tracking a mouse. The small brown creature was ignorant to its impending demise, and as it was forage for nuts, the tom lunged. The mouse squealed in terror before being cut off as the tom bit its neck, killing it. The tom buried his catch in the dirt before he continued on his hunt. After awhile, he paused and scented the air. He scented vole, and immediately began tracking the morsel. The vole was downwind of him, so catching it unawares would be easy. However, as he prepared to leap and kill his prey, he heard a voice. Then, as he turned to look in the direction of the voice, the ground began shaking violently. And with a sudden, crash the ground cracked and he fell into darkness.

Then, he heard the voice again, only this time it sounded angry.

 _Nightpaw_! the voice hollered. The tom shook his head, and tried to drown out the shouting, but it only got louder and more aggressive.

 _Nightpaw!_

 _Nightpaw!_

Then, with a sudden jerk, the tom woke up to see a small white she-cat with icy-blue eyes, staring at him with an aggravated expression. "About time you got up, _rogue_!" the she-cat hissed. "We're on the dawn patrol." The tom sat up and gave a small smile, "Good morning to you too, Icepaw." The small she-cat responded with a hiss and stormed out of the apprentices' den.

"She still hates you, I see."

Nightpaw turned around to see one of his only friends, and Icepaw's sister, Snowpaw, frowning at the entrance to the den. "I guess so," Nightpaw meowed, his smile not dropping for a second. "But you know how she is. I wasn't born into this Clan, I was a rogue. It's only natural that she hates me, most Clan cats hate rogues anyway." Snowpaw, looked at him, her frown deepening. "You're not a rogue, you're a Clan cat, regardless of your blood. You've been here since before I was even born. So I don't get why she doesn't accept you." Nightpaw was the one frowning this time, though he didn't show it to Snowpaw. If she knew just how much Icepaw's hatred towards him actually bugged him, then she would end up hating her sister, and he didn't want that. With a shake of his pelt he padded out of the den towards the camp entrance, where Icepaw, Frozenpaw, Lionfur, and Blacktail were waiting.

"Good morning, Nightpaw," the ShadeClan deputy, and Nightpaw's mentor, Lionfur, mewed. The black tom dipped his head in greeting. "We'll be going to the HawkClan border to remark it. However, we're still waiting on one cat." Then, a silver tabby she-cat padded up to the patrol. "Sorry I'm late." she meowed. "Are we all ready to go?"

"Yes, Hailstar," Lionfur meowed, dipping his head in respect. Without another word, the golden tabby tom bounded out of the camp entrance and into the forest.

"I can't believe that we're actually patrolling with _Hailstar_!" whispered Frozenpaw. The white tom was Icepaw's brother, however he was a lot nicer than his identical counterpart. Nightpaw chuckled and meowed, "Of course she's on this border patrol. There have been scents of HawkClan warriors on our territory." Frozenpaw nodded, but his smile didn't disappear. "Though, she wouldn't be if you hadn't had scented those cats. Even Flamewillow couldn't scent anything and he's the best tracker in the Clan!" Nightpaw shook his head. "Flamewillow would've found the scents too, I just noticed them quicker."

"No, he wouldn't have!" Frozenpaw exclaimed. "They had herbs and mud covering their scent trails." Icepaw snorted, "Their were so poorly hidden that even a fox could have scented them."

Suddenly, Hailstar flicked her tail, beckoning silence. Peering through the undergrowth, Nightpaw spotted several warriors marking the border. _I don't get it,_ he thought. _They're just marking their territory._ However, upon closer inspection, Nightpaw noticed that the cats were several tail-lengths past the border, marking ShadeClan territory.

Hailstar turned to the apprentices. "Icepaw, run back to camp and tell Flamewillow to gather reinforcements. You're the fastest cat here, so it has to be you." Hailstar added as Icepaw looked like she was about to argue. The white she-cat then nodded and turned and ran for the camp. Hailstar then strode out towards the border. The HawkClan cats turned towards the silver leader. A brute of a tom shifted his stance to dip his head to the she-cat. "Good morning, Hailstar," the tom meowed. Hailstar wasn't haven't it though.

"What in StarClan's name do you think you're doing, Owlclaw?" Hailstar growled. Owlclaw looked at her with a confused look. "Why, we're just marking out territory." Hailstar hissed. "This is ShadeClan territory!"

The large tom's demeanor changed suddenly, going from innocent and confused to angry and malicious. "This territory was never supposed to be your's, Hailstar." Owlclaw growled lowly. "Olivestar never should have given it to you. This strip of land was a prime hunting spot, and now it's going to waste because of your Clan." The brown tom then flicked his tail and a dozen warriors jumped out of the undergrowth. "Attack!" he screeched. Hailstar and the other warriors charged. Frozenpaw, being only seven moons old, sat back and watched, his fear evident in his eyes. Nightpaw stood in front of the smaller tom protectively. Being older and more experienced the tall black tom knew he had to protect the younger tom, as he did not have as much battle experience as the others.

Though after awhile, Nightpaw noticed that none of the HawkClan warriors were paying any attention to the two apprentices, so he let his guard down just a smidge.

Suddenly, he heard a yowl of agony and turned his head to see Owlclaw, standing over top of his mentor, Lionfur. With a burst of speed, Nightpaw darted across the battlefield and lunged for the large brown tom. He bowled him over and began slashing at him, hoping the distraction gave Lionfur enough time to escape. It did, but as Nightpaw sighed in relief, Owlclaw gained the upperhand. Grabbing the black tom by his scruff, Owlclaw clawed at his chest and then threw him across the clearing. Nightpaw hit the ground with a sickening thud.

Just as things seemed to be getting worse, a battle cry was heard and Icepaw and the reinforcements charged into battle. Soon, the ShadeClan warriors drove off the HawkClan cats. Hailstar caterwauled in triumph and soon the other cats joined in. Then, Icepaw turned and saw a black mound of fur lying on the ground. She raced over and sniffed the tom. She said in relief and turned. "Nightpaw is injured, Hailstar. I think he's unconscious." she meowed. The silver leader turned and padded towards the tom. She stiffened as she saw the large amount of blood welling from wounds on his chest. She turned and looked around for the least injured cats. "Aspenstrike, Blacktail." The two toms sat up straight at the sound of her call. "Carry Nightpaw back to camp." The toms nodded and gently lifted the apprentice onto their shoulders. And soon, they were headed back to camp.

* * *

 **I'm awful at writing dreams and battles, so yeah :P**

 **But that is this first chapter of this story, hope you guys enjoyed. And as usual I'm willing to accept OC submissions, just review or PM me**

 **Peace!**

 **~ Nightsky of FlameClan**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, I'm back. This post would've been made soon, but my computer caved about 3 weeks ago and I was angry and couldn't focus on writing because I lost at least 300k words, around 70 chapters worth of work.**

 **Also, Crimsonapple of MarbleClan, I've decided to use your OCs, but I will have to change the aspects of them a tiny bit. For example, Nightpaw is the type of cat to be kind to everyone so I'm going to make it to where he's one of the few cats who are kind to your OCs. Just giving you a heads up. Another thing is the only cats they are not rude to are the leader, deputy, and medicine cat of their Clan for obvious reasons. Pm me if you'd like to know more or submit other OCs as well.**

 **Anyways, thanks for everyone who submitted OCs, they're greatly appreciated. Now, on with the chapter.**

Nightpaw awoke to the sounds of shuffling and murmuring. Blinking open his eyes, he found himself face to face with the Clan's medicine cat Honeygaze. "Oh, you're awake." she meowed, seeming relieved. Nightpaw flicked his ear and mewed, "Of course I am." Honeygaze made a face at this. "Nightpaw, do you not remember what happened?" Nightpaw looked at her thoughtfully before his eyes widened. "What happened at the border? Is everyone okay? Is Frozenpaw okay? Icepaw? Hailstar? Lio-." He was cut off by Honeygaze's tail covering his muzzle. "Everyone is fine, You were the only one who was injured." Nightpaw finally took the time to look down at himself. He had a poultice on his chest, but other than that, he had small amounts of cobwebs on his chest.

"How long have I been asleep?" Nightpaw asked. Honeygaze looked at him somberly and meowed, "A few days. Your injuries were almost fatal. You'll have to be confined to camp for a few more days, and after that you might experience loss of breath. Owlclaw tore your chest up pretty bad." Nightpaw nodded numbly as Honeygaze talked. "I have to report to Hailstar, I'll have Ashypaw bring you some fresh-kill, and to have her keep an eye on you."

Without another word, the medicine cat left the den, leaving the black tom to his own devices.

* * *

Honeygaze padded out of her den and padded towards Foxpaw. The ginger she-cat looked up and mewed, "Hi, Honeygaze." The light brown tabby dipped her head to the smaller cat. "Have you seen Ashypaw? I was going to ask her to bring Nightpaw some fresh-kill while I speak to Hailstar." Foxpaw shook her head. "I believe she's on patrol or something."

"Will you take some fresh-kill to him them? And keep him company until I get back, please. Dawnrose is out collecting herbs, so I need someone to watch him while I'm gone." Foxpaw nodded and padded off to the fresh-kill pile.

* * *

Nightpaw looked up at the sound of the lichen rustling. A familiar ginger she-cat poked her head through the curtain and padded up to him. She dropped a squirrel at his paws and meowed, "Hey, Nightpaw. Honeygaze asked me to bring this to you." Nightpaw nodded his thanks, but didn't take a bite of the tree rat. When he realized that Foxpaw had laid beside him in his nest, he looked over at her. "What are you doing?" he asked. "You don't have to stay here with me." Foxpaw shook her head. "Honeygaze told me to stay with you until she comes back. Besides, you stayed with me when I had those nightmares during that storm back when we were kits, so this makes us even." Nightpaw gave a raspy chuckle.

"I suppose so," he rasped. "But don't expect me to be talkative. I'm losing my voice, so I can do much more talking." Foxpaw purred in amusement, before stretching and curling up close to Nightpaw."Then how about we share this squirrel and then sleep." she meowed, pulling the squirrel in close. Nightpaw nodded and took a bite of the squirrel. Though he immediately felt drowsy, and he eventually feel asleep.

* * *

When Nightpaw awoke, it was almost sunset. Hearing his leaders call, he decided to stand up. As he did, he noticed that Foxpaw was asleep beside him. He nudged her and meowed, "Hailstar just called for a Clan meeting." Foxpaw groaned, but got up nonetheless. Nightpaw padded out into the camp. Almost the entire Clan was outside already. Hailstar flicked her tail, beckoning silence. "Today is a great day for this Clan. An apprentice has earned his place as a full warrior of this clan. Nightpaw, step forward." Nightpaw stepped forward, a bewildered expression on his face. "Nightpaw, you have shown your bravery in battle and you saved the life of your mentor, Lionfur. It is only right that we award you with your warrior name."

"I, Hailstar, leader of ShadeClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Nightpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Nightpaw raised his head and meowed, "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Nightpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Nightsky. StarClan honors your intelligence and bravery and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadeClan." Nightsky licked Hailstar's shoulder as she rested her muzzle on top of his head. The rest of then Clan began to cheer his new name. "Nightsky! Nightsky! Nightsky!"

The newly named warrior liked his chest fur in embarrassment. "Nightsky," Hailstar mewed, gathering the tom's attention. "You will sit vigil for the Clan tonight. I suggest you eat beforehand, you'll need your strength."

The black tom nodded and headed towards the prey pile. Selecting a mouse, he turned to find a place to eat.

* * *

A large black tom with yellow eyes, padded through the undergrowth. He could scent other cats in the area. The sun was getting ready to set, so he climbed a tree to get a better view of his surroundings. He noticed a large dip in the ground that lead to a hollow. Peering down over the edge, he saw a large group of cats, eating and sunbathing in the dusk sun. He looked around at the cats, before his eyes landed on a familiar tall black tom with fluffy white ears. The massive cat grinned maliciously.

 _I finally found you, Nyxxis._

* * *

 **So that's this chapter. I had to make a lot of changes to my original writings because so many ideas have been flooding my brain.**

 **Don't forget to leave a review!**

 **Peace!**

 **~ Nightsky of FlameClan**


	3. A Quick Word

**I just want to say a few things before it's too late because I am a very busy person, which is why I don't update as much as I'd like to. Anyways, I'd first like to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed and has submitted OCs. I honestly do not see myself as a good writer, so I was surprised by all the positive feedback I've been receiving, and I greatly appreciate each and every one of you. Secondly, I'd like to clarify something brought to my attention by "Random Fan, who submitted Dawnrose, ShadeClan's medicine cat apprentice.**

 **They asked who Nyxxis was, and although I can't come out and say it because that will cause spoilers, I can say that the black tom above the hollow, Nyxxis, and Nightsky are all connected. So yeah :p**

 **You'll have to keep reading to find out XD**

 **Also, I too hate cliffies unless I'm the one writing them, which is why I did it lol.**

 **Hopefully, if my wifi stops acting like a jerkwad, I'll have time to update again next week. But no promises.**

 **Peace!**

 **~Nightsky of FlameClan**


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